From the Desk of Bopogamel

Talking toys and tat with Mojang’s Director of Creative Comms

As Albert Einstein once asked, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

I’m not sure what he’d make of Owen “Bopogamel” Jones’s desk, with its many gaming toys and trinkets, all so neatly arranged. Is Owen’s brain largely clean, saving for a good deal of fluffy, cheerful distraction? Those that know him well decline to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate them.

Owen is Mojang’s Director of Creative Communications. Nobody really seems to know what that means but, somehow, Owen still hasn’t been fired. How does he make himself useful on a daily basis?

My job has changed a lot since I joined Mojang four years ago. My original title was Chief Word Officer, which was pretty accurate, though a bit silly. I wrote most of the posts on our old blog, marketing materials, press releases, words for the games, and even some of the copy that you’ll read on our merch packaging. I still do lots of that, though a lot of my time is spent planning our new, swanky website or “debating” what’s best for the game and our community.
Owen Jones

Okay, then! Take us through your cool cuddly toys!

“Monster Hunter is probably my favourite game series. It’s full of awesome touches, from the monsters, to the armour sets, to the palicos (known IRL as cats). I bought this chap at Tokyo Game Show a few years ago. The Minecraft sheep are a mixture of official plastic ones and unreleased lead prototypes that I snatched from merchandise meetings. I’m Welsh so collecting sheep seemed the logical choice.”

“Vintage Mojang pixel king, Mattis, was a great man. He’s probably still great, but now he lives in Japan. Before he left, Mattis handed over this Ultraman figure which I now treasure in his memory. I miss Mattis. ;(

“He’s since been replaced with Johan who’s equally lovely in his own way.”

“Mojang art director, Junkboy once promised he would bring me a Japanese 3DS from Tokyo if I wore a garish reptile mask all the way to Mcdonalds and back. I wore the mask. It was gross and humiliating. However, Junk didn’t hold up to his side of the bargain, and (seemingly out of guilt) came back with this plush of Animal Crossing star, KK Slider, instead. I love KK, and I adore Animal Crossing, but it isn’t a Japanese 3DS, if you know what I mean. I’ve not trusted Junkboy since.

“The awesome Sphero BB8 was a gift from my wife. Ken has an impressive amount of articulation though his leg occasionally pops out. The dragon is a Silver Rathalos from Monster Hunter. Mattis got me the mini Zinogre. I like Monster Hunter merch!”

“I seem to have a thing for rejected Minecraft tat. This ocelot’s unique markings make his look like a sneaky thief - a bit Sly Racoon. The fluffy sheep can’t even support his own weight, which is why he’s wedged in amongst the other guys. I got the Cacodemon at GDC a few years ago, after reading a positive review on RPS.”

And what does Owen think his desk says about him?

"I guess my desk implies that I like games, little things, and plushies, and that I like them to be nicely ordered. Ninni says it means that I’m 'a man in conflict with my inner child'. Pontus says it means I’m a 'fun, loving, chap'. The truth is probably somewhere in between."